Sports Tips & Advice

10 Ways to Improve Your Strava Rankings

By Marc Lindsay | Active.com

Strava is the latest craze in cycling, and rightfully so. It's a fun way to challenge yourself and your friends, and can even be used to compare your times over the same sections of road ridden by the pros.

But getting top times and moving up the leaderboard can be a challenge. Use these tricks of the trade to improve your position so your Strava rankings are among the best.

1. Use your best equipment. If you're going to challenge for a top time, leave your training bike and heavy wheels at home. Wear your most form-fitting jersey, comfortable shorts and aero helmet. Every advantage makes a difference.

Popular Activities Near You

Ashburn, VA

2. Check the weather. Rain, wind or even extreme heat can ruin your chances of moving up the leaderboard. Try to choose ideal weather conditions, if possible. If you can plan a perfect tailwind, use it to your benefit.

3. Get rid of everything you don't need. Most Strava segments are on climbs, and extra weight will slow you down. If you're riding with a partner, give him your extra bottles, saddlebags, food and any other tools you might be carrying in your pockets. If you're riding alone, stash them in a bush.

4. Treat it like a time trial. This means not logging long miles or tackling tough climbs before you reach the Strava segment. Complete a proper warm-up to get your legs ready for a hard effort, just as you would before a race.

5. Rest the day before. Loosen your legs the day before you plan to challenge your Strava rankings with an easy effort with high cadences, short distances and little to no climbing. Get plenty of sleep the night before.

6. Use your friends as a lead-out train. Think of it like a lead out for a sprint. Get a few of your cycling buddies to lead you out while you draft, and then, one by one, have them peel off the front to set you up for the perfect sprint to the line.

7. Challenge the legitimacy of records. If you notice a top time that is pretty close to impossible, send it to Strava to challenge the legitimacy. Unless it's a professional heading downhill, someone who beats your time by going 60mph was probably in a car and not on a bike.

8. Create a new Strava course. One way to ensure that you reach the top of the leaderboard is to post a new course. How long you stay there is another question.

9. Pace off a motorbike. Ever wonder how cyclists maintain 35mph on a flat section of road? More than likely they've got a pacer, and a motorbike can provide peloton-like benefits for maintaining speed. Just make sure the person driving knows what they're doing so you don't end up riding into them.

10. Ride when the traffic is minimal. Racing on the road can be dangerous. If you're going to challenge a segment, make sure safety is your number one priority. It'll do you little good to be number one if you wind up severely injured. Consider testing your luck during early morning hours on the weekend when the majority of people are sleeping. Night rides on weekdays are also an option—just make sure you use good lights so others can see you. Riding during these times of day will help you avoid most red lights, and decrease your chances of motorists pulling out in front of you while you're in sprint mode.

Within 2 Miles

Activities near you will have this indicator!

Within 2 Miles

ACTIVE.com is the leader in online event registrations from 5k running races and marathons to softball leagues and local events. ACTIVE also makes it easy to learn and prepare for all the things you love to do with expert resources, training plans and fitness calculators.

Frequently Asked Questions

ACTIVE Advantage is the premium membership program of ACTIVE, designed to support and encourage your active lifestyle by providing exclusive discounts on thousands of activities on ACTIVE. No matter what your passions are, it is our mission to make it cheaper and easier for you to pursue the activities you love.

The 30-day trial of the ACTIVE Advantage membership allows you to check out the program for yourself before starting a full annual membership. During this trial period you have full access to member benefits, including all ACTIVE registration discounts, access to free event entries, gear discounts and more. If you decide during the trial period that you don't want to continue the membership, just let us know. Otherwise, at the end of your 30 day trial we will extend your member benefits for a full year at the current annual membership fee.

If you sign up for the 30-day ACTIVE Advantage trial membership you'll receive full access to all member benefits during your trial period. When the 30 days of the trial are up, your benefits will automatically upgrade to the annual membership which currently costs $64.95 per year. That's less than $6 per month to enjoy the program all year round.

Members can receive discounts when registering for events on ACTIVE.com.

Simply follow the steps below to redeem your discount

Step 1: Find an event on ACTIVE and login. Use the ACTIVE directory to find an event. Click the login button in the upper right corner of the event details page. You will be re-directed to a login screen. After logging in, you will be sent back to the event details page.

Step 2: Click the "Register Now" button to sign up for the event. Complete all required registration fields and proceed to payment screen. When logged in as an Advantage member, your discount will automatically apply at the end of registration.

Step 3: Submit registration and receive discount. The discount amount will display in your shopping cart and will be deducted from your registration fees. The registration discount will vary and is excluded from some events. If the discount does not appear in your shopping cart, the event is not eligible.